Lower Cholesterol with Five Easy Diet Changes

Small changes in a daily diets\ can add up to make a huge difference in health, specifically in lowering cholesterol. The lower the LDL, or bad cholesterol, the lower the risk is for heart disease. Get your cholesterol numbers going in the right direction with these five easy diet changes.

Eat More Chocolate

Most of us do not have to be told twice to eat more chocolate! We love the stuff, however there is a catch to lowering cholesterol by eating more chocolate; the chocolate has to be of the dark variety, which is rich in flavoniods and the amount limited to 1.5 (about the size of half a standard Hershey bar) ounces per day.

Nosh on Nuts

Nuts work hard to lower LDL levels and to lower total cholesterol. Walnuts, almonds, pecans and peanuts are tasty treats that can add crunch to a salad, stir fry or a host of other cooked dishes, or just grab a handful to nosh on between meals. A handful of nuts (about 2.5 ounces) four to five times a week will help lower cholesterol.

Become a Seed Sprinkler

A few sprinkles of flaxseeds here and a few there has been proven to reduce cholesterol by as much as ten points. Flaxseeds are versatile and can be used raw as a salad or cereal toppings or added to pancake and muffins batter and baked. About three tablespoons per day of flaxseeds will do the trick.

The Power of Blue

Blueberries, that is. A recent study conducted on hamsters revealed a significant drop in cholesterol (a whopping 27 percent!) in hamster which ate blueberries. While research is still being conducted on humans, blueberries are known to contain powerful antioxidants so adding a handful to the daily diet won’t do any harm. Plus blueberries taste great, so it’s an easy addition to a morning bowl of cereal, pancake or muffin batter.

Change Your Oil

Change to healthier cooking oil and raise your good cholesterol numbers while lowering the bad cholesterol numbers. Monounsaturated fats, like olive oil, canola oil, sunflower and peanut oils, boost HDL levels to offer valuable protection to the heart. The mono-rich cooking oils have been shown to significantly lower LDL levels in four weeks.

While a change in oil can lower cholesterol, even mono-rich oils are fats and a heart healthy diet is low in fat, with less than 35 percent of total daily calories coming from fat.